Bhutan Key Refuge for Snow Leopards, Caught on Camera!

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Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia)


Bhutan Key Refuge for Snow Leopards, Caught on Camera!

The World Wildlife Fund is reporting evidence of ample prey shows the means for Snow Leopards to survive, even thrive, in Bhutan's Wangchuck Centennial Park. Prey includes the Tibet Wolf, Musk Deer, Red Fox, and Blue Sheep, which appear to be numerous. Below are the first images from the Park.

Researchers See Hopeful Signs for Bhutan's Elusive Snow Leopard Endangered snow leopards are thriving in Bhutan, according to a new report released by the World Wildlife Fund. Instead of attempting to track the leopards, researchers at the Wangchuck Centennial Park in Bhutan took a census of the wildlife on which the elusive leopards prey. Ben Gruber reports.



Snow Leopards Caught on Camera This extraordinary scene is from a new cache of video and photos taken through a camera trap study by the Royal Government of Bhutan and WWF in Wangchuck Centennial Park, the country's largest protected area. The cameras filmed both predator and prey species, ranging from the Tibetan wolf to the musk deer, suggesting this protected area is a key refuge for Himalayan biodiversity.



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WWF has worked to preserve Bhutan’s rich biodiversity and natural heritage for decades and is the only international conservation organization with a permanent presence in the country.

"WWF has a special commitment to Wangchuck Centennial Park because we were invited to co-manage it with the government in 2009,” said Shubash Lohani of WWF’s Eastern Himalayas program. “It was the first time Bhutan entrusted a non governmental entity to co-manage a protected area together with the government."


The Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) is classified as Endangered, with a decreasing population trend, on the IUCN Red List. The estimated population is less than 7,000 in the following countries:
Afghanistan: 100-200?
Bhutan: 100-200?
China: 2,000-2,500
India: 200-600
Kazakhstan: 180-200
Kyrgyzstan: 150-500
Mongolia: 500-1,000
Nepal: 300-500
Pakistan: 200-420
Russia: 150-200
Tajikistan: 180-220
Uzbekistan: 20-50




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Unexplained Dolphin Strandings Continue at Cape Cod, 100+ Dolphins Have Died

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Unexplained Dolphin Strandings Continue at Cape Cod Dolphins continue beaching themselves at Cape Cope. This mass stranding event began January 12. The International Fund for Animal Welfare, IFAW, has been leading the rescue effort and deploying resources to save the dolphins. The strandings are a mystery, although many explanations have been conjectured. To-date, 177 short-beaked common dolphins have stranded on Cape Cod in the last month and 124 have died. The total is nearly five times the average of 37 common dolphins that have stranded annually during the last 12 years. The numbers increase daily.

Mysterious Dolphin Beachings Persist on Cape Cod (CBS/AP) WELLFLEET, Mass. - There's no good spot on Cape Cod for dolphins to continue this winter's massive and unexplained beachings, but a group of 11 has chosen one of the worst. The remote inlet down Wellfleet's Herring River is a place where the tides recede fast and far, and that's left the animals mired in a grayish-brown mud one local calls "Wellfleet mayonnaise." Walking is the only way to reach the animals, but it's not easy. Rescuers crunch through cord grass and seashells before hitting a grabby muck that releases a footstep only after a sucking pop. One volunteer hits a thigh-deep "hole" and tumbles forward. The mud covers his face like messy war paint the rest of the morning.






Amazing Marine Mammal and Rescue Team Efforts In this short video, produced by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, IFAW Marine Mammal Rescue and Research team staff and volunteers help as many dolphins as possible during one of the largest common dolphin stranding events on record.








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Dolphins and Whales Play Together in Hawaiian Waters

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Bottlenose Dolphin and Humpback Whale


Whales Give Dolphins a Lift

Many species interact in the wild, most often as predator and prey. But recent encounters between humpback whales and bottlenose dolphins reveal a playful side to interspecies interaction.

In two different locations in Hawaii, scientists watched as dolphins "rode" the heads of whales: the whales lifted the dolphins up and out of the water, and then the dolphins slid back down. The two species seemed to cooperate in the activity, and neither displayed signs of aggression or distress.

Whales and dolphins in Hawaiian waters often interact, but playful social activity such as this is extremely rare between species. The latest Bio Bulletin from the Museum's Science Bulletins program presents the first recorded examples of this type of behavior.




Two Unusual Interactions Between a Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and a Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Hawaiian Waters Abstract: When two species share a common habitat, interspecific interactions can take many forms. Understanding the dynamics of these interactions can provide insight into the behavior and ecology of those species involved. Two separate, unusual interactions are described in which a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) lifted a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) completely out of the water. Both incidents occurred in Hawaiian waters. Based on reports of object play by hump-back whales, and the apparent initiation and cooperation of each dolphin being lifted, object (i.e., the dolphin) play by the whale and social play by the dolphin seem to be the most plausible explanations for the interaction. Aggressive and epimeletic behavior by the humpback were also considered.


Bottlenose Dolphin and Humpback Whale




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Captive Sumatran Rhinos Last Hope for Species?

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Sumatran Rhinocerous

Rare Sumatran Rhinocerous Puntung is a female Sumatran rhino, one of an estimated 200 of her species left in the world. Captured in a forest in Borneo on Christmas Day, she's the latest addition to Malaysia's Borneo Rhino Sanctuary. Veterinarians want to introduce Puntung to Tam a 20-year-old male living in the enclosure next door. Captive breeding is now regarded as the only way to boost the Sumatran rhino population. Deforestation and illegal hunting have decimated the species in the wild. Habitat fragmentation has cut these solitary animals off from potential mates, and the animals are ageing to the point where they are too old to breed. Puntung presents their best opportunity in decades to help a species whose time is running out.

IUCN Red List: Sumatran Rhinoceros This species (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is listed as Critically Endangered due to very severe declines of greater than 80% over three generations (generation length estimated at 20 years); and because its population size is estimated to number fewer than 250 mature individuals and there is an expected continuing decline of at least 25% within one generation; and because its population size is estimated to number fewer than 250 mature individuals, with no subpopulation greater than 50 individuals, and it is experiencing a continuing decline. There are three recognized subspecies: Dicerorhinus sumatrensis lasiotis (probably Extinct), Dicerorhinus sumatrensis sumatrensis, and Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni.

Captive Sumatran Rhino Romance May Be Last Hope for Species The hopes for an entire species may rest on a captive breeding program and two Sumatran rhinos at a sanctuary in Malaysia. The Sumatran rhino is not only the world's smallest rhinoceros, it is also one of the rarest with deforestation and poaching having decimated its population in the wild. Rob Muir reports.




Sumatran Rhinocerous


International Union for Conservation of Nature

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Great Clouds of Pink Flamingos: Tens of Thousands Flock in Mexico

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American Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber)

Great Clouds of Pink Flamingos in Mexico Thousands upon thousands of American Flamingos are at the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Fortunately, this species continues to maintain both a very large population and a very large range. Therefore the American Flamingo is designated as "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List. Celestún and Ría Lagartos, at opposite ends of Mexico's unspoiled northern Yucatan Peninsula coastline along the Gulf of Mexico, are the gateways to the two primary preserve areas where American Flamingos breed and nest.

Flamingos Flock to Mexican Oasis Dec. 12 - Despite threats to their habitat, thousands of flamingos congregate every year at a wetland reserve in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Tara Cleary reports. About 45,000 flamingos flock annually to these protected wetlands to mate. Head of the National Park for the Mexican Flamingo, Marco Antonio Plata says the wetlands are important for flamingo monitoring and conservation.



The Greatest Pink Show on Earth Flamingos are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus and family Phoenicopteridae. They are found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres, but are more numerous in the latter. There are four species in the Americas while two exist in the Old World. Two species, the Andean and the James's Flamingo, are often placed in the genus Phoenicoparrus instead of Phoenicopterus. (wikipedia) This video is dedicated to all animal lovers!




American Flamingos in Mexico



International Union for Conservation of Nature
Conserving Biodiversity

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